MICHAEL VAN GERWEN marched into the quarter-finals of the Dutch Darts Masters with a stunning 6-3 victory over the world number seven Dave Chisnall as Finals Day at the PDC European Tour kicked off in style with the third round in Venray.
Van Gerwen’s win means the world number one remains on course to defend his title and claim a fourth successive European Tour event.
In front of a packed house at the Evenementenhal in Venray, van Gerwen raced into an early 4-2 lead before Chisnall hit back with a 167 checkout, but the next two legs went to the home favourite, who ended the game with a staggering average of 114.70 to book his spot in the last eight.
Van Gerwen now plays Mervyn King in the quarter-finals, after the English ace hit four ton plus finishes in his 6-5 win over Simon Whitlock.
Belgian star Kim Huybrechts produced a scintillating display of darts to overcome Ian White 6-3, with the former Dutch Darts Maters winner averaging 106.02 and hitting two ton plus finishes on his way to victory.
The opening two legs of the match saw the players trade 180s before a 121 checkout in the third saw the Belgian take a 2-1 lead, which he extended to 5-1 by taking the next three legs without reply, landing a 141 checkout in the process.
White tried to rally back and took the next two legs, but a 14-dart leg from Huybrechts in the ninth saw the 29-year-old book his place in the quarter-finals.
Jamie Caven set-up a quarter-final clash with Hybrechts with a 6-5 win over David Pallett, who led 2-1 and 3-2 early on courtesy of a pair of breaks of throw.
Caven hit back to move 4-3 up and also took out a 112 finish as he led 5-4, with Pallett taking out 73 to force a decider only to see the Derby ace finish double five for the win.
Justin Pipe brought an end to Nathan Aspinall’s Dutch Darts Masters campaign overcoming the youngster 6-4.
Pipe raced into a commanding 5-2 lead, but then a 14-dart leg followed by a 13-darter saw Aspinall claw the score back to 5-4, but the former Austrian Darts Open champion held his nerve to take the next and seal his quarter-final spot.
A jubilant Josh Payne is Pipe’s next opponent after the youngster took advantage of some sloppy finishing from Michael Smith to overcome the former World Youth Champion 6-4.
Smith hit an astonishing nine maximums in the match, but his missed doubles opened the door for Payne, who took full advantage.
Australian Kyle Anderson turned on the style to inflict a 6-1 defeat on Steve Beaton with a superb display as he reached his first European Tour quarter-final and continued his push to qualify for the BetVictor World Matchplay.
The Australian ace averaged 100.36 and hit 60% of his doubles to set-up a quarter-final clash with Terry Jenkins, who defeated Brendan Dolan 6-4 in the other third round contest.
The £115,000 PDC European Tour event concludes on Sunday evening, with the quarter-finals followed by the semi-finals and final in front of over 4,500 fans in Venray.
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Dutch Darts Masters 2015
Evenementenhal, Venray, Netherlands
Sunday June 7
Afternoon Session
Third Round
David Pallett 5-6 Jamie Caven
Ian White 3-6 Kim Huybrechts
Nathan Aspinall 4-6 Justin Pipe
Michael Smith 4-6 Josh Payne
Kyle Anderson 6-1 Steve Beaton
Brendan Dolan 4-6 Terry Jenkins
Simon Whitlock 5-6 Mervyn King
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Jamie Caven v Kim Huybrechts
Justin Pipe v Josh Payne
Kyle Anderson v Terry Jenkins
Mervyn King v Michael van Gerwen
Semi-Finals
Caven/Huybrechts v Pipe/Payne
Anderson/Jenkins v King/van Gerwen
Final
All games are the best of 11 legs